A new Sword Art Online light novel series is already in the works now that SAO: Alicization has been completed. However, the big news is that SAO author Reki Kawahara is planning on working on a brand new book series.

The revelation came during a recent interview with Mr. Kazuma Miki, CEO of Straight Edge, which is in charge of editing the Sword Art Online light novel series. When Miki was asked if he had a message for all of the English-speaking fans, he briefly discussed where the SAO light novel is going next with the story.

“We look forward to sharing our new development with you in the near future, and we hope you’re looking forward to learning about it!” he said. “The Alicization Arc of the SAO original novel series – which is the longest arc – has reached its conclusion, but Mr. Kawahara is already working on the sequel.”

Sword Art Online Volume 18 ended the Project Alicization arc, which was 10 volumes just by itself. The first two seasons of the anime were based on the first eight volumes, although Kawahara provided extra side stories that were included in the anime adaptation.

In addition, Sword Art Online Volume 19: Moon Cradle, which was published in Japan in February of 2017, provided more side stories that took place before the end of the Project Alicization Arc. Some fans believe that Sword Art Online Volume 20 will finish the new short story based on the Cradle Of The Moon web novel, which Kawahara said was originally “structured to be readable as an independent fantasy story with some character names in common (with the original works).”

Volume 20 is scheduled to be released on September 8, 2017, but it is uncertain what the focus of the new SAO story arc will be in Sword Art Online Volume 21. Considering that the Moon Cradle side story takes place in the digital Underworld, some fans speculate that Kawahara will return the plot to the real world. Without giving any major spoilers, the ending of the Project Alicization Arc has ramifications for the real world since some things came out of Underworld.

A New Book Series By Reki Kawahara

Mr. Miki also revealed that the SAO author is planning on branching out with a completely new story.

“Following the sequel, there are plans for a brand new series. Newly written content will be available in the future, and we hope you will look forward to the newest SAO content from Mr. Reki Kawahara in 2017,” he said.

Unfortunately, Mr. Miki did not provide a hint about the title or the subject matter for the new book series. The last time Kawahara published a new light novel series was back in 2014. Called The Isolator (Zettai Naru Kodokusha), the story was about a teenager named Utsugi Minoru, who was given a superhuman power when various extraterrestrial life forms come into contact with the human species. The story started life as a web novel self-published by Kawahara from 2004 through 2009, but it was eventually adapted into several light novels and a manga. Kawahara is also well known for his Accel World light novel, which was adapted into an anime.